May 2005

Calendar of Events:

Congratulations and Names in the News:

Carlos Mayen was awarded the 2004 Master of Science Outstanding Thesis award for “Consumer Preferences of a Fresh-Cut Melon Product – A Potential Value-Added Product for Indiana Melon Growers”. His major advisor was Dr. Maria Marshall.

Lixia He was awarded the 2004 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation award for “Improving Irrigation Water Allocation Efficiency: Analysis of Alternative Policy Options in Egypt and Morocco ”. Her major advisor was Dr. Wallace Tyner.

Brian Briggeman has accepted a job as an Assistant Professor in Agricultural Finance/Production at Oklahoma State University .

Beth Mark was awarded a Purdue AP Professional Development Award. Beth will attend “The Personal Growth Center” workshop, May 7, 2005 in Washington , D.C.

The NAMA team won this year's competition in Phoenix , Arizona !!  They are the 2005 National Championship NAMA Student Marketing Team.  Team members were Jesse Beck, Doug Bergman, Jennifer Govan, Tanya Hadley, Toby Hollinger, Stacie Warner, Courtney Warren.  Advisors were Christine Wilson and Jay Akridge.  There were 36 teams in the competition.  Their marketing plan was for the Edgewood Pig Pad, a piglet warming pad.

Two Purdue Agricultural Economics Alums Honored at the University of the Free State graduation on April 22, 2005. Mbene Faye and J. A. Groenewald were recently honored at the University of the Free State Graduation in Bloemfontein , South Africa .  Faye received her MS degree in 2001 and Groenewald received his Ph.D. in 1967.  At the University of the Free State graduation Faye received her Ph.D. and Groenewald received an Honorary Doctorate.  Joan Fulton was one of the committee members and Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer served as the External Examiner for Faye's dissertation at the University of the Free State .

The 31 st Annual Snyder Memorial Lecture and related events were held Friday, April 15, 2005. The Snyder Memorial Lecture, established in the Department of Agricultural Economics in February 1975 as a memorial to a distinguished member of the faculty, James C. Snyder, is held to encourage the continuation of his professional career efforts in pioneering undergraduate curriculum in agricultural business management, and in the development and application of quantitative techniques for agribusiness research and training of graduates. Besides the Snyder Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor W. David Downey, this year's events included a graduate student poster competition, presentation of the 2005 Apex Awards, and a special presentation honoring Professor David Downey.

Graduate Poster Competition

There were 6 posters entered in the competition this year. The winners and cash prizes:

•  3 rd place went to Anetra Harbor for her poster “Reported Impact of Government Support on Capital Input Finances” - $100.

•  2 nd place went to Joshua Detre and Brian Briggeman for their joint poster “Management of Strategic

Uncertainty of Agribusiness: a Teaching Application” - $75 each.

•  1 st place also went to Anetra Harbor for her poster “Assessing Brand Loyalty for Ag Inputs” - $200.

Apex Award Winners 2005

The Apex Award is presented in recognition of those individuals with a strong connection to the Department of Agricultural Economics who have made outstanding contributions in their fields, and represents the convergence of accomplishment in the lives of our honorees. More information about the Apex Awards may be found at http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/alumni/award.asp .

Dale and Lisa Koester – Dale (1992 B.S. Agricultural Economics) Upon graduation, Dale worked as an agronomist for the Posey County Co-op until joining the family farming operation near Wadesville, Indiana. Lisa (1994 B.S. Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Communication) worked as a territory agricultural chemicals sales representative with Novartis (Syngenta). Operating from the farm as a home base of operation, Lisa is a Project Manager/Moderator for Beck Ag Com, Inc. Through double-cropping, the Koesters farm the equivalent of 3,650 acres, milk 185 cows, feed out 80 diary steers and finish 1,600 hogs annually.

Kurt K. Klein – (1976 Ph.D. Agricultural Economics) Kurt has held a research or academic appointment at the University of Lethbridge in Canada with visiting professorships in Japan and Germany since receiving his degree. He is recognized and respected for his wide-ranging contributions to the field of agricultural economics and agricultural policy in Canada . The breadth of his work includes systems modeling, the economics of research, agricultural policy, international development and trade, and environmental issues. Dr. Klein has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work including being named a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, awarded the Ingrid Speaker Medal for Distinguished Research, Scholarship or Performance, and named Board of Governor's Research Chair.

Richard (Rick) D. Ward – (1980 B.S. Agricultural Economics) Focusing his interest on the pork industry, Rick has served terms as Chairman, Vice President, President Elect, and President of the Indiana Pork Producers, as a board member of the National Pork Board, and as the Ag Advisor to the President of the Bank of Chicago of the Federal Reserve Board. His most recent contribution was forming the Indiana Pork Advocacy Coalition (INPAC), and acting as the first president from 2002-2003. Serving Purdue University by his participation on the Dean's Agriculture Advisory Council from 1996 to 1999, today he is President of a fourth-generation, family farm, R & R Ward Farms/Myrtle Ward Farms/Edgewood Farms, located in Crawfordville, Indiana, that is teaching facility for Purdue's Veterinary School.

Snyder Memorial Lecture

W. David Downey ( Purdue degrees: B.S. Agronomy, M.S. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics) was the featured speaker and presented “Preparing Our Undergrads to Lead 21 st Century Agriculture” in the Krannert Auditorium. The lecture was very well attended by members of the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Purdue community at large, and received a standing ovation. Dr. Downey is the Executive Director of the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue University , and a professor of Agricultural Sales and Marketing with responsibility for undergraduate courses in Agri Selling and Agri Marketing Strategy. He has been instrumental in the development of a curriculum in which students can earn a four-year B.S. degree in Agri Sales and Marketing — the first such program in the U.S. Dave has received four major teaching awards from Purdue University and is in the Book of Great Teachers, as well as two national awards from the American Agricultural Economics Association. In 2004, he received the Special Boilermaker Award from the Purdue Alumni Association for his contributions to the betterment of educational experiences for Purdue students.

Emeritus Hanging

Upon the retirement of every professor from the Department of Agricultural Economics we honor the tradition of the “hanging.” Until 2002, the “hanging” referred to the fact that the retiring faculty member's photo and short biography were etched on a plaque and hung in Krannert Conference Room 661. Due to the technological advances of our modern world, the portraits are now “posted,” rather than hung, on our department website at http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/directory/history/formerFaculty.asp so that our proud history can be shared and displayed for the world at large. This year we are proud to continue with Purdue tradition and add Dr. W. David Downey to the virtual “hanging” wall of fame. Congratulations Dr. Downey!

Outstanding Undergraduate Awards

On the evening of Thursday, April 7, the Department of Agricultural Economics honored this year's outstanding undergraduate students.

Recipients of this year's Scholarship awards were: Jenna Smith of Cloverdale , IN (R. Dean Dyson Scholarship), Shanna Krull of Milford , IN (F. Van Smith Scholarship), Sarah Gaines of Rensselaer , IN (Indiana Society of Agri-Bankers Award), and Justin Quear of Cicero , IN (Marshall Martin Public Policy Award). Amanda Geary of Ft. Wayne , IN and Adam Veld of Lake Village , IN were this year's recipients of the Gerald and Joan Gentry Scholarships.

Blake Everhart ( Waldron , IN ) received this year's Top Senior Scholar Award. During his time in the department, he has also served as an Agricultural Economics Envoy, a member of the Agricultural Council, and as an Agricultural Senator for Purdue Student Government. Blake is a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.

Andrew Peter (Jasper, IN) was named the 2005 Outstanding Senior in the Department of Agricultural Economics. During his time at Purdue, Andy has served as a College of Agriculture Senator for Purdue Student Government, President of FarmHouse Fraternity, a member of the Agricultural Council, an Agricultural Ambassador, a member of Mortar Board and on the National Agriculture Future of America Student Advisory Team. He has also served as a teaching assistant in numerous Agricultural Economics classes.

Behnam Arjomandi ( United Arab Emirates ) was the department's 2005 Outstanding Junior. Ben served as an Agricultural Ambassador and is Treasurer of the Agribusiness Club. He is completing an Undergraduate Honors Project studying horticultural marketing under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Dennis. Ben is also a member of the Purdue Men's Soccer Club, Iranian Cultural Club, and Muslim Student Association.

Anne Marie Diener ( Five Points , CA ) was named the 2005 Outstanding Sophomore in the Department of Agricultural Economics. She serves on the Purdue Foundation Student Board and is Secretary of the Agricultural Council. She is the 2005 Old Masters Directing Co-Chair and is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

Michael McDaniel ( Middletown , IN ) was this year's departmental Outstanding Freshman. He serves on the Government Relations Committee for the Purdue Student Government. Michael is a member of FarmHouse Fraternity and currently is a member of the Interfraternity Council.

In addition to the students honored above, the Department of Agricultural Economics acknowledged the hard work and accomplishments of the members of the 2005 National Agri-Management Association competition team, officers of the Agribusiness Management and Farm Management clubs, honors research participants, and the Agricultural Economics Envoys.

Thought You Would Like To Know:

Otto will be returning to Purdue May 9th from his Sabbatical in Washington with the Resource Economics and Social Sciences Division of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The College of Agriculture Commencement Reception will be on Sunday, May 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the North Ballroom of the Purdue Memorial Union.

From ICEE :

April 2005 Travis Allen, senior at Zionsville High School , has been awarded the state Young Economist Award from the Indiana Council for Economic Education and the Community Bankers Association of Indiana.

Each year the ICEE gives awards to high school economics students who have excelled in economics. Travis will receive a $500 check and certificate at his high school awards program this spring. Regional winners receive $200. Judging is based on special achievement in economics (school business, or community programs) Overall high school scholastic achievement and demonstration of leadership and citizenship.

April 2005 In the Adam Smith Division of the Economics Challenge, the state winner was Carmel High School for the third year in a row. Students David (D.J.) Dorff, Yimei (Mae) Pei, Yifang (Betty) Zhang, and John Miller demonstrated their expertise under the coaching of economics teacher, Michelle Foutz.

The David Ricardo Division state winner was also a Carmel High School team (students: Jennifer Millikan, Jordan Arkin, Raechael Ball, and David Hanna; Michelle Foutz, teacher).

These two teams will advance to a Mid-West regional competition in Chicago on April 22th, competing against the winning teams from Illinois , Iowa , Kentucky , Michigan , Missouri , Ohio and Wisconsin .

Adam Smith runner up's were from St. Joseph 's High School, South Bend (Neehar Garg, Rob Jones, Alan Huang, and Ping Wong; Julie Chismar, teacher). David Ricardo runner up's were from Homestead High School , Fort Wayne (Sanjeev Balamohan, Tyler Keena, Jocelyn Gauthier, and Jason Leung; April Moss, teacher).

The Indiana Council for Economic Education sponsors the Econ Challenge each year.

Travel, Speeches and Presented Papers:

John M. Connor, “International Cartel Overcharges: Focus on Europe,” lecture at Howrey Simon offices, Brussels , Belgium , April 15, 2005.

Otto Doering and Ken Cook, of the Environmental Working Group, spoke April 20 to the USDA Economists Association on "Prospects and Hopes for the Coming Farm Bill".

Otto Doering also spoke April 27th to the Kellogg Foundation's Food and Society Networking Conference on the impact of  US farm programs in sustainable agriculture and green payments.

Joan Fulton presented a paper “Potential for Genetically Modified Cowpea in West Africa” (written with Saket Kushwaha,Sika Gbegbelegbe  and Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer) at the International Edible Legume Conference held in Durban , South Africa on April 17 – 21, 2005.

Will Masters presented a paper on " Trade and Poverty in Rural Africa " at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC, at a conference on Impacts of Trade Liberalization on Poverty, April 15 2005.  (More or less coincidentally, Tom Hertel also spoke at the same conference.  Video of the talks will be archived on the Woodrow Wilson Center website, at: http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event_summary&event_id=116629 .)

Will Masters presented his work on prizes for innovation in African agriculture at the World Bank in Washington , DC on April 29th.  He made a similar presentation at USAID in Washington on March 10th.  Material on the prizes initiative is available on Will's website, www.agecon.purdue.edu/staff/masters .

Will Masters spoke at the Indiana Capitol Forum in Indianapolis on April 19th, addressing 100 juniors and seniors from 16 high schools around the state.  Details on the event are available at http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=13518 .

Will Masters spoke at Oak Hill High School in Converse, Indiana on April 20th, as part of Purdue's "Professor in the Classroom" program.

Kevin McNamara will travel to Afghanistan in mid May for a six-month stint as advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education and Kabul University . McNamara, a professor of agricultural economics, has advised Kabul University officials in recent years as part of an agreement between their Ministry of Higher Education, and Kabul and Purdue universities. He will help Afghan officials redesign agriculture curriculum, acquire educational resources and arrange for faculty training. The project is funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.  

Wally Tyner will travel to Turkey May 6-15 for a meeting of his EU project and to Morocco May 15-28 for the Morocco project.

Terrie Walmsley and Chris Parsons will be presenting their Labor Migration Data Base at the World Bank May 4.

Publications:

Todd D. Davis, George F. Patrick, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight and Alan E. Baquet. “Forward Pricing Behavior of Corn and Soybean Producers,” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , 37:1 April 2005, 145-160.

New Extension Publications:

Two new publications have been added to the series Frequently Asked Farm Management and Marketing Questions . The FAQ series is designed to be a ready reference for Extension educators as they advise clients on business management issues. Copies of the publications are available from the author(s).

Ehmke, C. R. Ballard and C. Dobbins. April 2005. “What Are the First Steps to Starting an Alternative Agricultural Enterprise ?” Purdue Extension. FAQ 20.

Ehmke, C. “How Do I Protect Intellectual Property?” April 2005. Purdue Extension. FAQ 19.

Visit the AICC (Agricultural Innovation and Commercialization Center ) website for information on business planning: www.agecon.purdue.edu/planner .

Job Announcements:

http://www.fao.org/VA/vac_en.htm

University of Kentucky

California State University , Fresno : Department Chair

Virginia Tech: Department Head

Purdue: Extension Educators

North Caroline A&T State University : Assist/Assoc Prof Agribusiness

Sam Houston State University : Assist/Assoc Agribusiness

Clemson University : Assist/Assoc Community and Economic Development

Michigan State University : Assist/Assoc – Mgmt, Production or Marketing

North Dakota State University : Faculty position – Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Purdue Extension Service: see website listed below

Career and Job Sites on the Internet:

Keeping Track Monthly Newsletter Archive

November 24, 2009

Introducing a Special Issue of Agricultural Economics on the World Food Crisis of 2007-08

Now accepting applications for Natural Resources Leadership Development Institute

Considering becoming an Agricultural Economics student? Please visit our Future Student pages.

USDA National Needs Fellowships In The Economics Of Alternative Energy are available. For more information, download the pdf.